The invention relates to a device for protecting a vehicle against impact, and more particularly to a device comprising an inflatable element which, once inflated, presents a general shape that fits closely over the region of the vehicle to be protected.
The protection device of the invention preferably applies to the rail industry, in particular to trams or the like, for which the inflatable protective element is particularly bulky.
It is known from document GB 2 020 234 to use an inflatable protective cushion at the front of a rail vehicle to cushion shock during impact with a human being or any other obstacle. It is also known from that document to inflate the cushion prior to impact by injecting gas under high pressure into the inflatable cushion, the gas being stored, under normal conditions, in tanks carried by the vehicle.
However, when the inflatable cushion is large in volume, such a device has the drawback of requiring a long period of time to inflate the protective cushion. Unfortunately, the inflatable cushion must be deployed very rapidly for the protective device to be effective even when the cushion is triggered to open shortly before impact.
Another drawback of that device is the need to have large-capacity gas cylinders to enable the protective element to be inflated under pressure, which cylinders are costly and make the rail vehicle heavy and bulky. In addition, it is difficult to envisage the use of a pyrotechnic gas generator for such a device, by analogy with devices used for motor vehicles, since said generator would then present a significant potential danger as a result of the power required to inflate a large-volume inflatable cushion and of the toxicity of the gas.
The invention seeks to remedy those drawbacks.
The object of the present invention is thus to propose a device for protecting a vehicle against impact, which device ensures rapid deployment of the inflatable element and is simple to make and of low cost.
The invention provides a device for protecting against impact, the device comprising an inflatable element which, once inflated, presents a general shape that fits closely over the region of the vehicle to be protected.
In the invention, the inflatable element includes a skin which is deployed by means of inflatable reinforcement having a volume that is much smaller than the volume of the skin, pressurizing and deploying the inflatable reinforcement ensuring rapid deployment of the skin and simultaneously causing the internal volume of the inflatable element to be filled with air, by suction, via inlet means carried by the skin.